Head of Libya contact group Dengov gives details of two Belarusian doctors' release from captivity in Libya
MOSCOW. Dec 27 (Interfax) - The release of Belarusian doctors Sergei Zdota and Inna Babush, a married couple, who were held hostage in Libya's Zintan, was assisted by the Libyan Foreign Ministry and the security service of the government of national accord in Tripoli, Lev Dengov, the head of the Russian contact group on Libya, said.
"Representatives of the contact group were delegated to Tripoli, where ways of assisting the release of the Belarusian citizens were analyzed. The Libyan Foreign Ministry and the government of national accord responded and helped with the citizens' release," Dengov told reporters on Wednesday.
"We are seeing the first results today. We always have the same composition. It's the Russian Foreign Ministry, it's Ramzan Kadyrov [the head of Chechnya]. He helped a lot in Belarus, too. The direct operation was highly secret because there are many factors and various people who would like to prevent us from completing this operation successfully," Dengov said.
According to earlier reports, two Belarusian citizens, doctors Inna Babush and Sergei Zdota, were detained in the Libyan city Zintan in late October after their contact with a medical establishment had expired. The Belarusian doctors had gone to Libya to work back in 2010, but were not allowed to leave the city after their contact expired.
The Belarusian citizens were contacted, released and taken to a safe place in coordination with the Foreign Ministries of Russia and Belarus.